Nopa restaurants owner Laurence Jossel welcomes the staff and owners of Tomatero Farms and owners of the Mount Eden Vineyards to the restaurant’s “close the circle” lunch, which is an idea to give the cooks and servers a better understanding of how the food is produced. Photo: The Chronicle 2010

The Feature: The water cooler debate around the industry: Should you open a restaurant in Mid-Market? With tech companies moving a small army of workers in the area (and other SoMa sub-neighborhoods) and myriad new condos being constructed, restaurateurs are finding more and more reasons to be seduced by an unproven area.

The Review: Miss Ollie’s, Oakland.

Thirst: Jon Bonné begins his column this week like this: “These are wonderful, if precarious, times for Zinfandel.” He continues to explain why the grape is being taken seriously once again, especially in Sonoma.

California Local: Joyce Goldstein profiles Nopa’s Laurence Jossel, who apparently needs to get some better jokes, according to Goldstein. But for all his comedic struggles, Jossel changes the menu daily and he buys produce from 54 small organic farms, and goes to seven farmers’ markets a week:

“If you cook in San Francisco or, specifically, Northern California, if you don’t do what we do, you’re missing the point,” he says. “I mean you could be cooking anywhere. If you don’t connect to as fresh as fresh can be, and it’s tasty and seasonal – well, why bother?”

Restaurants: Tara Duggan dives into Santa Cruz’s vegan roots, which blossomed during the 60s but still remain strong these days.

Farms: How the UC Santa Cruz Farm blazed early trails for organic, sustainable farming: “For nearly 50 years, a visionary band of educators, horticulturists, scientists and idealists has used these acres to advance the art and science of sustainable agriculture – beginning decades before most people ever heard of organic farming.”